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We all know the music business is changing, so I won’t bore anyone with my lamenting, my sighing and hand-wringing or any other ings that show displeasure and uncertainty. But one discussion that is often lost in this huge topic is the question of the album. Is the album a needed format or is it obsolete? Is it even worth it to make one these days??
The concept hasn’t been completely abandoned but I know many bands that have no interest in albums at all, for various reasons. 1- it takes a lot of time and money to make one. 2- people rarely buy them. 3- it’s not how music is consumed anymore. All of these reasons are valid. Sure, some artists will be stuck on the album, it’s all about a full idea, the cohesiveness of a bunch of songs put together, blah blah. And for some bands, that can work. But for most artists, and especially new artists, it’s maybe not logical to put all your eggs in one basket. As with the speed of the Internet, the speed of music consumption is super fast. You’re better off putting out singles on the Internet, leaking them one at a time, because that’s how people are getting music these days.
Take, for example, Pitchfork’s track reviews. Often, they are reviewing songs off a MySpace page. Today they posted a review of “Feel It All Around” by Washed Out, which is some dude in South Carolina with electronic toys. He doesn’t yet have an album out (though Mexican Summer is releasing an LP in October, can’t find deets) and his songs are obviously home made and DIY- which is really cool don’t get me wrong, and, for the record, I like the songs, but the point i’m trying to make is this: tracks are hyped these days, not albums. This guy’s forthcoming album could suck, but it doesn’t really matter, people will remember the leaked tracks, so heavy handedly hyped online. Artists were once judged by the quality of their albums, if you had a good single and a shitty record, you were deemed a one hit wonder and reduced to VH1 reruns. Today that’s not the case at all.
(For the record let me state that I am a believer in albums, I like listening to a band for more than 3 or 4 minutes, it’s probably good for the brain, too.)
Another example: The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit (a name i hate!!)) have been giving shit away for free for what feels like forever. First there was their free download last year that everyone has, and in the past couple of months they’ve been leaking tracks slowly and purposefully on the Internet. Just yesterday we got the third leak from the Warm Heart of Africa album as an “exclusive” on the FADER. The track, “Rain Dance,” features MIA. The album is out today on iTunes and Oct. 6 on CD and vinyl. Will anyone buy it? Does the track giveaway marketing actually inspire people to buy the album after they’ve gotten so used to getting bits of it for free? I’m not sure. I hope so. I think.
This exact topic is being discussed today at 2 EST on Soundcheck. Live stream here.
I just discovered Mountain Man and boy was I struck in the face with a gust of fresh, cold, clean air. Seriously, try listening to “Animal Tracks” and tell me it doesn’t make you wish for a porch with a swing, a tree with limbs to climb or grass you don’t have to put your shoes on first to get to. There’s a moment of pause shortly after the song begins, almost telling you to hold up, look around, take a breath, wait and appreciate your surroundings. And then it picks up again. A momentous moment.
Mountain Man is three women from Bennington, Vermont, which of course makes so much sense it’s not even funny. Bennington was also once the home of Mary Oliver, after all, whose poems focused on animals, nature and tranquility just as Mountain Man’s songs do.
Mountain Man has songs available here, or see their MySpace here. It doesn’t appear they are touring, but they have before…to places like Woodstock. Long, heavy sighhh…
(thnx to Chocolate B.)
Mountain Man: Animal
Mountain Man: Animal
CATS!
Hello High Places! Mary and Rob certainly keep themselves busy. That’s gotta be hard living the Cali life, right? Maybe not! They made a mixtape for VICE (complete with Atari Teenage Riot?! Shiiiit yah!) and are also a part of something called “Mapping Main Street.” I’m not too sure what the dilly is with that quite yet- but peep the deets.
HP made the mix with the other half of their recent split 12″ release- Hisham Bharoocha of Soft Circle. GET IT HERE!
Vivian Girls are one of the success stories of the Brooklyn music scene. They’ve been around for a few years now, their debut met wide acclaim and they are amping up for a big fall tour in support of their sophomore album, Everything Goes Wrong, out on Sept. 8. Cassie, Katy and Ali play guitar, bass and drums and sing and found some time to discuss pizza, dealing with online “haters,” recording at Fort Tilden and their latent desire to relocate to California. (This is becoming a common refrain.)
The band plays tomorrow at Death by Audio.
When you first formed, what did you expect?
Cassie: We wanted to write short and fast but melodic songs, go on tour, and put out an LP. We expected to tour basement shows and dive bars a few times a year.
Katy: I really wanted for us to be interviewed in Maximum Rock and Roll, which happened last year!
You’ve been featured in many magazines and blogs. How does it feel?
Cassie: Kind of strange but it’s also fun to gather a collection of magazines with your picture in it. Kind of annoying though when a blog will post about you every other week just to rile up the haters.
Ali: It’s surreal and like Cassie said a ton of fun to collect the magazines you’re in. I’m not really all that phased by the haters anymore. If they have enough time and negative energy to go out of their way to bring you down on a public forum they aren’t worth a reaction.
Katy: It is pretty awesome to get a reaction from people for your music, positive or negative. We all made music for a long time before Vivian Girls which got no attention at all, so it’s a big change that feels nice.
What are your favorite bands and what are you listening to these days?
Cassie: The Wipers, the Bananas, Neil Young, and Sonic Youth are some of my all time favorite bands. These days I’m listening to a lot of Lou Christie, the Beach Boys and the Adolescents.
Ali: Serious Lou Barlow and Courtney Love infatuation going on with me. I listen to every Hole album all day every day. I like how they can take me from being super pissed with Pretty on the Inside to dancing around to Celebrity Skin.
Katy: Right now I’m listening to a lot of Yellow Fever. We are currently working on putting out a record for them. They are one of the best bands around these days. Some of my favorite bands of all time are Nirvana, The Smiths, The Pixies, the Modern Lovers, Minor Threat, and the B-52s.
Pizza or chinese? What kind?
Cassie: Pizza’s more reliable, so I’ll go with that. I really like getting pizza from Domino’s.
Ali: I’m gonna go with pizza. Real pizza though, from a pizzeria.
Katy: Definitely pizza, from anywhere.
Here’s the first, for the song “Pull Out.” These videos and the Soft Pack’s debut album on Kemado have been a long time coming. The album is out this fall,if all goes as planned. Matty (guitarist) said they are recording a lot of videos for the album…this one is very fun and trippy.
more about “Soft Pack Videos Finally Coming Out“, posted with vodpod
“It’s possible the past 10 years could become the first decade of pop music to be remembered by history for its musical technology rather than the actual music itself.”
This is a really interesting article on mp3′s, the music business, technology, etc. Pitchfork does have a lot of great features, not just mp3 news and album reviews. Read it here.
Zach (the drummer) from So So Glos emailed me and said he fractured his thumb (bummer) and therefore the band is not going to be playing tomorrow at the big Bikes in the Kitchen show. This decision makes sense to me, seeing as the band is about to embark on a super big tour with Titus Andronicus.
Still, the show is gonna be the shiiiiit!! Check the line-up:
Todd P is “on the phone with lawyers,” according to an NPR interview he did. No, he’s not in trouble, he’s looking for ways to set up a permanent shop for ToddPNYC. Way to go Todd. I believe that he will keep things much the same as they are now, in terms of culture and the kinds of bands he books. What will surely change though is the allowance of indoor smoking and the make shift bars and BYOB policies that make his shows my favorites to go to. Shit like that just won’t fly in an established establishment.
I understand that sponsorships and endorsements are one of the only avenues bands have these days to make money. I get it. As much as i don’t like it, and think it cheapens the art/music that the band/artist makes, i get it. What i DON’T get is why it’s actually considered somewhat “cool” to do this. For example, today I got a press release announcing Chairlift‘s new video. But the release doesn’t say anything about the video or even what song the video is for- instead it’s touted in huge caps-lock letters that the video was made for MARC by MARC JACOBS and it will be featured on SAKS.com!! Holy shit, that’s so cool!!!
No, actually it isn’t. In my opinion it’s fucking lame. I’m glad that they can make money from it- but if that’s all that they are getting out of it, well then that’s really sad. What ever happened to doing shit for inspiration (or better yet, arts?) sake??
Get this- the band is wearing the Marc Jacobs clothes in the video, and “walking the streets of Brooklyn.” WOW!!! Will this help sell clothes for Marc? Yes. Will it help sell records for Chairlift? Doubtful.
I interviewed Chairlift in the Spring for Spinner, and the band told me they wanted to make a video for every song they write. So, maybe this is helping them do that. But you’d think if they wanted to make videos so bad they would be doing it because they were pumped about their music…it doesn’t say anything in this release about their music.
Not like any of this is too surprising. This is a band that blew up as a result of an iPod commercial. I guess I shouldn’t hold them to any standards.
Alright, alright. It’s available for DLOAD!! The Babies is awesome, as I said before. Get it while it’s HOT.
The Babies: Meet Me in the City
The Babies: Meet Me in the City
